The 1st meeting of Syria`s Parliament on Thursday

DAMASCUS- Syria`s People Assembly started on Thursday its first meeting in the first legislative term for 2012, headed at its first meeting by the eldest attending member, Abdel Aziz Tarad al-Milhem.

Al-Milhem said that the new elected People's Assembly crowned the process of democracy and transparency in light of the new constitution which met the aspirations of the Syrian people and create the appropriate atmosphere to preserve Syria's pioneering role in the region.

He expressed gratitude to all spectrums of the Syrian people who proved their unity and adherence to the wise leadership of their president Bashar al-Assad and supported the reform process.

He also called upon the new members to work hard to achieve the aspirations of the people who granted them confidence to be their representatives.

Later on, the Assembly's members were sworn in at the first meeting of the newly elected Assembly.

Then; Parliament member Mohammad Jihad al-Laham was elected to be the Speaker of People's Assembly by a 225-vote majority.

Al-Laham said that Syria is passing through a stage that requires every individual to exert his efforts, adding that the Assembly should be a mirror that reflects the reality of all Syrians and meet their aspirations.

Dr. Fahmi Hasan was also elected as Deputy Speaker of People's Assembly with 202 votes.

Parliament Members also elected Khaled al-Abboud and Abdel Mou'ti Mashlab as Secretaries and Rami Saleh and Maria Saadeh as Observers.

The People's Assembly elections were conducted on May 7th, 2012 under the new constitution and the General Elections law and with independent judicial supervision represented by the Higher Committee for Elections and judicial subcommittees.

250 members were elected out of 7195 candidates from all spectrums of society. The vote percentage reached 51.26 out of 5186957 voters. The Number of elected women amounted to 30 and the number of members elected for the first time reached 209.

The parliamentary elections included the participation of the political forces and blocs, licensed parties and independent personalities, individually or joined in lists of party and political alliances under media coverage of about 200 Arab and foreign media outlets.

Syria`s People Assembly elects for four years. It consists of 250 members according to Decree 113 for 2012, 172 of whom represent the workers and peasants sector, while the other 123 members represent the rest of the sectors.

A number of MPs in the new People's Assembly hoped that the Assembly would be a new starting point towards the participation in building the homeland and fulfilling the aspirations of all citizens.

In statements to SANA, the MPs pointed out that the new People's Assembly would implement the spirit of the new constitution and launch a comprehensive political process to reach national consolidation.

They also stressed the necessity to fulfill their duties effectively, particularly during this stage, to meet the demands of the Syrian people to get out of the crisis facing Syria.